By: Fred Duhoe | Voltaonlinegh.com |
The data from the 2017 HIV prevalence by region has indicated that Volta Region dropped from its sorry first place to fourth according to the Ghana Health Service.
The Volta Region had the highest prevalence with 2.7 per cent jointly with Brong Ahafo Region in 2016 but made significant strides to come fourth with 2.3 per cent while Ashanti Region took the lead.
The Northern Region maintained its lowest prevalence of HIV infection with a 0.6 per cent, an improvement from the 2016 rate of 0.7 per cent.
Revealing the statistics at an HIV and AIDS workshop held for journalists in the Volta Region organised by African Centre for Development (ACEDEV) Reporting in collaboration with the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), Golda Asante, an HIV and AIDS consultant, said despite the gains, the region had to up its game in some urban communities.
According to her, the reflection from those urban communities still had high records compared to the overall regional data.
The Ashanti and Greater Accra regions recorded 3.2 per cent to come first as the regions with the highest HIV prevalence while Western, Eastern regions recorded 2.4 and 2.1 percent respectively.
Brong Ahafo Region improved significantly from first to sixth place with 2 per cent.
Two regions, Upper West and Upper East recorded 1.3 per cent while Central Region recorded 1.8 per cent same as last year.
Source: www.voltaonlinegh.com